Scarred
by xXRubyDiamondXx
Summary: I know this has been done before,but since this is my first fic, I'm writing a 'Max gets abused' story. Prologue and 1st chappie suck,but I promise it gets better. FAX!
1. CHAPTER 1

The five year old didn't know what to think as she stared out the window from the back of Anne's SUV. She was only five, and didn't truly understand just how bad her situation was. All she knew was that Daddy was mean and Anne had to find her and her big sister, Max, a new home. She wasn't doing a very good job, though. The people at their houses were always mean and hurt Max. Angel loved Max with all her heart and trusted her with anything. But, there were still some things she was afraid to talk to her about. Like how even after they had been away from all the bad people Max still got a cuts and scratches on her wrists and arms. Or why she always wore black and grey. And why she never smiled. Or why she tried to hide it when-

"So, are you guys excited?" Anne asked with a little bit too much enthusiasm.

"Of course! Why wouldn't we be?" Max asked, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"Max," Anne started tightly. "I've done background checks on these people and have known them for two months. They're very nice and they've adopted before. I really think you have a shot here."

"Oh, well isn't that just dandy. Angel! We have a shot! A shot. A shot at what? At not dying? Thank you, Anne. Thank you for always taking me to loving homes with people who try to kill me. You're a saint."

"Max-"

"I would tell you to save your breath, but to be honest, I'd really rather you didn't."

Anne just sighed. Max had been through so much and was such a troubled child because of it. She hadn't been to as many abusive homes as some of the children in the orphanage, but she had been to enough. She had seen enough. And it all started the day of her mother's death. No one else but Max and her father knew she had been murdered. She knew because she witnessed it and he knew because he did it. Authorities stated that she had just been drunk and passed out while she was swimming during a family outing at the beach. That had been end of it. Case closed.

But not for Max. Her father had just dropped off the face of the earth one day, but he was still with her. In her dreams, in her head. She was ashamed that she was still afraid of him. She wasn't that little girl hiding under the bed at night, hoping that Daddy wouldn't find her, anymore. But she was. He was haunting her and she couldn't get away from him.

The car pulled into the drive way, pulling Max out of her torturous memories.

"Okay, kid," Max said, turning around in her seat to face Angel. "Let's do this." Max stuck out her fist and Angel bumped it and smiled.

Max got out of the car and walked around the car, trying to ignore her heart, which felt like it was having a wrestling match with itself. She helped Angel out of the car while Anne got their three bags. One had clothes for each and the third was toiletries.

The three walked up to the front porch and Anne rang the doorbell. A moment later, a tan, Hispanic looking woman opened the door and smiled. "Oh, it's so nice to see you again," she said, stepping forward to hug Anne. She looked at the two girls. "You must be Max, correct?"

Max slowly nodded and the woman introduced herself. "I'm Dr.M." She stuck out her hand. Max just stared at it, her blank face unchanging, masking all of the emotions one could possibly feel. The woman's face dropped, as did her hand. "And you must be Angel?"

Angel nodded slowly, carefully copying Max.

The bunch chatted for a little while, with the exception of Max. Then, Anne had to leave to go to a meeting and the two girls cautiously stepped inside. Dr.M showed them around the house, and helped them get settled in. Dr.M explained that her husband was on a business trip and wouldn't be home for a week or two. Her adopted son, James, was out with his friend, Nick, who practically lived there. And then her real son, Zephyr, was at soccer practice.

Dr.M was making dinner when the door opened, startling the two girls sitting on the couch. "Hi."

Angel gave a small wave and Max just stared at the little boy, dressed in his soccer uniform, smiling at Angel. "Are you Angel?"

She nodded. The door opened again and a blonde boy walked in, followed by a dark haired boy, both around Max's age: fifteen. They introduced themselves; well, Angel introduced Max as she glared at them.

They ate dinner, and Max put Angel to bed, and then went to her room. She would never admit it, but she was afraid. Afraid of these people, afraid of all people. She jumped when she heard James yell at the TV. Stupid football. She had been beaten and tortured continuously throughout her whole life and had witnessed her mother's death and someone else's biggest worry was a re-run of a _game_?

She sighed, and let her tears fall, like they did every night. She cried herself to sleep, and as she drifted off, she secretly wished that she would never wake up.

**Kay, peoples, like I said, it isn't written very well, but it will get better around the third chapter or so.**

**REVIEW!**

**3**


	2. CHAPTER 2

_I was walking along the beach, liking the feeling of the sand in between my tiny toes. I was on a mission. I had to find Mommy the prettiest sea shell there was and she was going to find me the other prettiest one. A seagull flew overhead, singing to the other birds around him. It was hot, but the cool sea breeze made it tolerable. _

_I looked down at the few sea shells in my hand. Some were pretty but I knew Mommy would do a lot better at finding one. I sighed. The sun was setting and I promised Daddy I would be back by then. If I was late, he would be mad. Very mad. I quickly decided on a shell and dropped the rest in the sand as I ran back the other way. I smiled, Mommy would love it. _

_I got back to where all our towels were but Mommy and Daddy weren't there. I looked around and spotted them in the water. I smiled and ran up to the edge of the ocean and stumbled, almost falling over, when I came to a halt, remembering I couldn't swim by myself._

_I looked at Mommy and Daddy and smiled. They were playing. I watched for a moment and my eyes narrowed. Mommy was underwater and Daddy wouldn't let her up. At first I thought it was funny, it was just a game. But Mommy wasn't having fun. She was struggling to breathe, trying to push Daddy off. It wasn't too funny anymore._

"_Daddy! Daddy, stop! Mommy can't breathe." I ran forward, instantly scared of the water that was now waist deep for my five year old body. I slowly walked forward and yelled at him again. _

_Mommy's head popped up and relief washed over me. She stared at me, her eyes wide and full of fear. She mouthed the words 'love you' and then she was forced under water again. Suddenly, the struggling stopped, and Mommy quit moving. Daddy held her for a second and then let go. She still didn't move._

"_Mommy!" I ran forward, the water up to my shoulders now. I slowly stepped forward, my vision blurry from the tears pouring out of my eyes. "Mommy!"_

_I stepped forward and suddenly, I couldn't breathe. I tried to scream but it sounded muffled to me. Water was everywhere. I couldn't see, couldn't stand. My arms flailed but it was useless. Everything was turning black. It was hard to move and I was steadily growing tired. A lot more tired than I was a few minutes ago. I felt my hands get cold when the air from above the surface touched them, but that was as high as I could get. It wasn't that cold but chills were all over me. And suddenly, something tightened on my hair and jerked me out of the water. I gasped and pulled air into my tiny lungs. My head hurt and everything was fuzzy. I tasted the salty water pouring out of my mouth, mixing with my salty tears._

"_Mommy," I wheezed. I felt my feet drag along in the sand, and my hair felt like it was being ripped out. I was suddenly dropped, and felt the sand stick to my wet body. I heard footsteps walking away. After a minute or two, my eyes slowly opened. I was lying next to our towels and bags. I saw something bright lying on my Ariel towel. I picked it up. It was a shell. The prettiest shell I had ever seen. I knew it was from Mommy. I clutched it tightly and turned around and screamed. Mommy was lying right next to me, her eyes still open, staring off into space. "Mommy," I cried, pushing her a little. "Mommy! Wake up! Mommy!" _

"_Yes, hurry, that's my wife. Oh, God, my daughter. Max! Max, sweetie. Oh, honey, it's going to be okay." Daddy held me tight and I cried onto him. I was scared and wasn't really sure what had happened. He picked me up and carried me a little ways off. _

"_Daddy," I whimpered. "What-"_

"_Listen, you little twerp, if you tell anybody anything about what you saw today, you're gonna end up worse than your mama. You understand me?"_

_I nodded, still sobbing. Then the police showed up. He picked me up again and carried me over to their car. "It'll be okay, sweetie," he said loud enough for them to hear. He kissed my cheek. "Oh, it'll be okay, sweetie."_

_I was still screaming, still not sure what was happening. Was Mommy okay? _

_We rode in the ambulance all the way to the hospital with Mommy. I held her hand all the way but it wasn't warm like it always was. It was cold and sent chills up my arm. We stayed at the hospital a while, while Daddy pretended to cry, then he slowly carried me out of the hospital and into our car, which the police had brought to the hospital. They offered to take us home but he turned them down. I was still crying. _

_As soon as we pulled out of the hospital parking lot, he dropped the act and glared at me. I shifted in my seat. My pink one piece bathing suit was uncomfortable. I looked down at the shell still clutched in my hand and-_

I gasped as I sat up in bed. I was sweating. My breaths were coming in short gasps and it felt like somebody had poured five gallons of adrenaline into my body. I looked over to my right and came face to face with…Nick. I shrieked. He laughed.

"Sorry."

He didn't look too sorry.

"What're you doing?"

"James is making breakfast and I figured you'd want to eat it while it was hot."

"Oh. Okay."

After I had changed, I met the two boys downstairs. We ate breakfast and I realized we were the only ones there.

"Where's everybody else?" I questioned. But most importantly, _where was Angel?_

"Zephyr has soccer practice and Dr.M takes this girl across the street to dance class every week and Angel wanted to watch," James explained.

I wasn't too happy to hear this. Angel was already adjusting to these people. But most of all, that woman had taken my baby without asking me. I tried not to be mad. And it worked. I wasn't mad. I was pissed.

"She took Angel with her?"

"Yeah." He didn't pick up on my tone. That didn't help with my attitude, but I was used to people not noticing me, anyway.

But, what if something happened to her? What if she got hurt?

We finished up breakfast, and I followed them into the living room. James flipped through the channels on the TV and found some scary movie. "That one, that one! It's the best," Nick said.

"'Kay." He clicked on it and the parental control thingy showed up.

"Dang it."

James typed in the password.

We stared at him. "What? The password is 'password'."

I rolled my eyes.

Okay, so, apparently Nick's statement on this movie being 'the best' was untrue for some of us. Some of us, A.K.A: me. By the middle of it, I was like a shivering leaf on a tree during a tornado. I was crying, screaming, you know, the usual. At least Nick tried to comfort me. I don't even think James noticed. Figures.


	3. CHAPTER 3

**Okay, this is obviously the second chapter. I'm not going to tell you to be nice because I'm not in charge if you. Just know that flames will be used to roast marshmallows.**

**Disclaimer: If James Patterson was ¼ of an inch over five feet, weighed a little bit over a hundred pounds, and was a teenage girl named Savannah, then maybe, just maybe, I'd be making millions right now.**

**Special shout out to guineapigpower, Sam Wammy, Fangirl092, The-Dark-Angel-of-Awesome, dunkin donuts and dancing for donuts (Summer, I know that's you) for being awesome reviewers.**

***********And because this is my first reviewer in life, they're special and get their own line. Give a special round of applause to: JealousMindsThinkAlike. ILY!***********

The movie ended with a not so good ending, according to me. James and Nick thought the blood was cool because they made it look like it was splattered across the TV screen. I thought my dad had come back. Anyway, the movie had lasted about two hours, so we only had to wait a few minutes before three kids and Dr.M walked through the door. I would be lying if I said I almost screamed when I mistakenly identified the chocolate all over Angel's face as blood. What? You know I have a reason to be paranoid.

As soon as Angel gave me my hug, she grabbed Zephyr's hand and they stood up on the coffee table. He looked at her and she nodded. They simultaneously started shouting for everyone to, "Listen up!" or "Hey, be quiet, or I'll steal all your candy. That's not a threat, it's a promise."

After the toddlers had their scream fest, everyone was still quiet. Angel cleared her throat. "Zephyr and I have made a new creation and you are all involved in it."

Zephyr jumped in. "As you all don't know, Angel and I have made the latest creation of the game world. You are now part of it. Starting with James and Nick."

We all stared at them, waiting for them to continue. Instead, they cleared their throats, stepped down off the table, and walked away, discussing which was better: Hot wheels or Barbie.

Dr.M broke the silence. "Um…wow." Then she walked away.

"Um…so, anyway…should I be afraid that I'm going to wake up with chewed up bubble gum in my hair or something?"

"Ha, sucks for you, man."

"Hey, they said you too!" James whined.

"Whatever. Turn it on Spike."

James pouted but did so.

We watched weirdo stuff and things of that nature, me just listening in on their conversations, only letting out a word or two. I looked behind me every now and then, expecting someone to be swinging an ax toward my head. After a while, Angel and Zephyr walked back in, turned off the TV, and resumed their positions on the coffee table.

"Attention, everyone."

"Now," Zephyr started. "As we said earlier, James and Nick are part of our new creation. First, I would like to call James to the table."

He looked at us, his eyebrows pulled together in a 'what the heck are these psychos up to?' look.

He got up and walked up to the table. He stared at them and Zephyr sighed. He put his hands on James' shoulders and turned him around to face us. "I hereby announce you 'Iggy'." The two pushed him forward and he walked back to his seat.

"What-"he began.

"And now, we would like to call Nick to the table."

He stepped forward.

"You are now pronounced: 'Fang'."

They pushed him back and he sat down, looking at 'Iggy' who was shaking his head and laughing. 'Fang' shrugged.

Angel began to speak. "Now that you have your new names, in honor of the first founder of this organic station,"

We laughed at her mispronunciation of 'organization'.

"Zephyr is now known as 'Gazzy', due to his farting problems."

They stepped down, bowed, and walked away.

LINE

A few days after that, it was official. James and Nick were now Iggy and Fang. Everyone was so used to it, it wasn't even funny anymore. But that wasn't the only thing I was getting used to.

I was getting used to everyone here and I didn't like it. I had never been somewhere for so long without anyone beating me or locking me in the closet for a few days with no food or water. I was on the edge and was about to fall. I couldn't take the waiting. Not anymore. But what did this mean? I would go crazy if I _wasn't_ hurt all the time?

On top of that, the dreams were worse. It wasn't like I could talk to Angel about this. Or anyone else here. So I went to do what I promised myself I would never do again.

It wasn't dramatic, it wasn't painful. It was…almost calm. I walked into the bathroom, locked the door, and made a slice across my wrist with my razor. It felt better. It _made_ it better, watching the blood drip down my hand and into the sink. Like all my feelings and emotions were just leaving me alone for once. Falling down into the sink and leaving me forever. I cried for a little while and cut myself again.

When I finally quit crying, I looked down at my wrist. All that was left were two blood trails. I hadn't cried it out. I bled it all out and away. It was easier. It hurt less.

I quickly rinsed my wrist and the sink off, double checking to make sure there was no evidence of what I had been doing.

I looked down at my wrist again. There was no blood, no feelings, and no emotions. There was no more hurt, no more pain and suffering. My wounds were healed, but I could still see them. They were healed but still there. Closed up but could be open in one little hit, one little yell. One more bruise and they would all come back to torture me again.

I may have been healed. But I was scarred. Forever.

**Personally, I thought this was the best by far. Tell me what you guys think. **

**Oh, and because I'm bored, I want to see who can guess my age first. This does not include you, Summer (my sister). If you're the first to get it right, I'll let you have your own line when I mention you in my Author's Note. 8D**


	4. CHAPTER 4

**Okay, I tried a lot harder on this chappie. I hope it makes everyone happy. **

**A shout out to all of my lovely reviewers. **

**You-Are-A-Fridge-With-Wingss-I love your username! And, no, Igaroo is not blind.**

**Bright-Eyed Athena-Thank you for your constructive criticism. I know I need it. But I tried hard on this chapter!)**

**JealousMindsThinkAlike-I'm glad you feel special!**

**Oh, and Summer-That was NOT a mistake. I know what I'm doing! Kind of….**

**Disclaimer: If I wrote this book, why would I be on a website pretending to be a teenage girl, and not writing an actual book? **

The next day I woke up to Angel jumping up and down on my bed, screaming.

"Max! Max! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

I jumped up. "What! What's wrong?"

"Dr.M wants to take me and Gazzy over to this girl's house across the street to play! Can I go, Max?"

I looked at her in shock. At our old houses she would stick to me like glue, copying my every movement. She would never leave me.

"I don't know…"

"Please?"

I wasn't sure what to do. I hated not knowing if she was okay, and yesterday when Dr.M took her without me knowing, I almost lost it. Not that I really ever had any sanity to lose in the first place but, you get what I mean. I looked at her bright blue eyes staring down at me, silently pleading me to let her be a normal little girl for once.

"How long would you be gone?"

"I don't know. But, Max, please? Gazzy said she has more Barbies!"

I wouldn't let her go. I couldn't! I wouldn't know where she was, if she was okay. If I let her go she would become independent. She wouldn't need me anymore. I couldn't let her go.

"Okay," I said.

She squealed in excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She squealed again as she ran out of the room, and I realized that she had never been on a play date before. Neither had I. I sighed. My life was soooo screwed.

I dejectedly got out of the comforts of my bed and got ready for the day. As I was putting on my shirt, I caught a glimpse of my wrist. Scars coated it, with the exception of the two new scratches. I sighed and finished putting my shirt on and just sat on my bed and just stared at the ceiling. What was wrong with me? Why did everything horrible have to happen to _me?_ Was that selfish? I'd be lying if I said I never wished it had happened to someone else. Oh, and would you look at that? I say it like it's over. It's not over, it would never be over. But maybe it was? I didn't know. The only person I remotely liked here was Fang. He didn't push me for answers, just listened. I liked that. He was kind of cute, too…

"Hey, you okay?"

I jumped.

If there had to be one thing I hated about him, though, it would be his ability to sneak up on me.

"Barely." I glared at him.

He smirked. "Cool. Iggy and I are gonna go… well we don't really don't know what we're doing. You want to come?"

"Sounds like fun, but no."

"Oh." He looked kind of dejected but quickly covered it up, the way only he could do. "Okay. See you later, I guess." 

"Um, okay."

I just lied down again after he left. What was the point in getting up? I was going over why I couldn't have just been born here and not where I had been when somebody knocked on my door.

I cleared my throat. "Come in," I called softly.

It was Dr.M. "Hi, Max."

I stared at her.

She sighed and came over to sit on my bed. This was it. I knew it. She was going to hit me. I hadn't gotten close to her for a reason. She was just going to hurt me.

"Would you like to go to the park with me?"

What?

"What?"

"Yeah, we haven't really gotten to get to know each other yet with my job and all, so I figured we could go and just talk."

"Talk about what?"

She took a deep breath. "Anything you want."

I didn't want to go anywhere with her.

"Okay."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? Great! Um… I'll go get ready, you get ready too. Great."

She looked shocked when I agreed. Probably not as shocked as I was though.

But, we got in the car and that's when things got awkward.

"So, Max, how many abusive foster homes have you been to?" Her voice sounded on edge, like she was waiting for me to go ballistic. She didn't want that.

"Seven."

She swallowed. "All abusive?"

"Yes."

"What happened to your parents?" she asked quietly.

"My dad… my dad was the first person who ever… hurt me."

"What about your mother?"

"She, um…she passed away."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Of course you are. "Thank you."

It was quiet after that.

When she finally broke the silence it was on a happier note. At least _she_ thought it was anyway.

"When my husband gets home, well, we were planning on going to the beach. Sound fun to you?" she asked with enthusiasm.

My blood ran cold.

I started fidgeting with my wrist band that I always wore to cover up my scars.

I felt tears prick my eyes.

"Max? Are you okay?"

I swallowed. "Yes," I lied, oh so smoothly, as I nodded. I bet I looked like a bobble head.

"Max," she started slowly. "I-I don't know you. You don't know me. And I know that you don't trust me, or anyone else. I know this isn't going to mean anything to you, I know you've been told this before. But, you can trust me. You can trust all of us. You can tell me anything you want. Even if it's 'I like chocolate chip cookies' or something serious. Okay?"

I nodded.

"Would you like to tell me something? Anything?"

I swallowed and it was quiet for a moment.

"I…I watched my mother die. She…_drown_...at the beach."

She gasped slightly but didn't say anything. I felt my face morph into shock. I had never told anyone that. It just kind of slipped out. I let out a breath.

We got to the park and we jumped out of the car. I followed her around for a while and then we went over and sat on a bench. "So, when was the first time you went to the park, Max?" she asked, a smile on her face.

"Never been to one."

Her smile dropped.

"Oh."

"You know," she said after a while. "Your little sister, Angel, is adorable."

"She's not my real sister." I inhaled deeply. I had never told anyone that…including Angel. What was wrong with me?

"Wh-what?"

"Legally she is but, not by blood."

"Oh…Would you like to explain to me how that happened?"

Nope. "My father remarried after my mother…" I swallowed. "And she was pregnant at the time. I'm more of a mother to her than a sister."

"Oh, was Angel's mother…kind?"

"She was a very nice lady."

"Was?"

I nodded. "Yep. Was."

She didn't question me anymore about that, but she didn't change the subject. "I saw that Angel wanted your permission to go to that girl's house today. She really looks up to you, you know?"

"Who is that little girl anyway?"

"Well, her name is Monique, but Gazzy decided to give her a nickname. Fudge…or something."

I laughed slightly, but there was no real emotion of any kind. "I like fudge."

"Who _doesn't _love fudge?"

I smiled. Dr.M wasn't that bad…

Maybe _all _of them weren't that bad…

I shook my head. I was losing what little sanity I had.

"Do you like…" she tilted her head up in the air, as if she would see a good and interesting question plastered across the sky. " Chocolate chip cookies, Max?"

I looked at her weirdly. "One minute we're talking about my life story and the next we're talking about fudge and cookies."

She laughed.

"And I wouldn't know. I've never had chocolate chip cookies."

She looked at me. "Hmmm…"

She stood up and grabbed my hand. "Where are we going?" I asked her.

She looked at me. "I'm going to teach you how to make chocolate chip cookies."

**Oh, wow. Max cooking. This is going to be good, I assure you. Tell me what you think. **

**Oh, and no one guessed my age right, so I'm giving you more time! See how nice I am?**

**I hope that met everyone's expectations. 8D**

**But, I have to go. I'm getting those separator thingies put in my mouth so I can get *shudder* braces. **

**EEP!**

**Okay, I'm boring myself now so I'm going to leave now.**

**BYE! **

**3**


	5. CHAPTER 5

Okay, Jace 'n' FangLover and Dreamer-.-Lynx got closest to my age!

Jace 'n' FangLover-Yes, Fang will be next to her. 8D No, it's the Summer.

Dreamer-.-Lynx-I've been thinking about that, not sure yet though.

JealousMindsThinkAlike-UGH! They hurt!

Disclaimer- Do I even need to explain that I'm not James Patterson? If I was, I would be hanging out in a hot tub watching my gigantic flat screen.

Dr.M and I watched as Iggy and Fang wearily took a bite of my cookies.

"It's not that b-…OH MY GOD!" Iggy started put his hands on his throat as he started choking, trying to bring the contents of in his throat back up. Fang simply stood there, eyes wide as chewed up cookie bits fell out of his mouth and onto the floor.

Iggy rushed to the sink and started gulping down water. "What the heck did you put in those…_things?"_

"I did exactly what she said!" I pointed to Dr.M.

Iggy glared at his foster parent in shock.

"Oh," Iggy groaned as he walked away slowly.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." The main problem I had with that statement was that Fang was actually being serious. He quickly ran out of the room, hand over his mouth.

Dr.M and I stared at each other for a moment, and then we burst out laughing. I think I even saw tears come out of her eyes. We were practically rolling on the ground when we finally stopped.

We stared at each other as we caught our breaths, smiles still very prominent on our faces.

I hadn't laughed like that in…forever. Since my mom died.

"You have flour…all over your face, Max." Dr.M smiled at me.

"I do?" I questioned in shock.

"Yes." She nodded as she spoke and started laughing again. "Let's get you cleaned up a bit."

We went upstairs and rinsed our faces off in the sink and dried off. Then we looked at each other and started laughing again.

"You still have it in your hair." She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Oh, just take a shower."

She brought me a towel and I undressed and stepped under the water. When I went to wash my face again, I realized there was still a smile on my face. I couldn't even remember the last time I smiled. Maybe…maybe Dr.M wasn't that bad. Iggy was kind of funny (in other words: FREAKING HILARIOUS), and Fang was just…Fang. And that was by far good enough.

I still wasn't sure about him though. Was he my friend? I didn't even know what it felt like to have a friend. Did I even _want _him to be my friend? Or…maybe something a little more?

I shook my head and finished up with my shower and realized I had no clothes to change into. So, I wrapped a towel around myself and scurried across the hall and into my bedroom. I quickly got dressed and went down stairs to hang out. Hang out? Hang out! What was wrong with me? I was breaking all my rules…and I didn't even have a problem with it.

For the rest of the day we did something weird. Fang, Iggy and I played board games. It was the most fun time I've ever had with anyone else though.

When Angel and Gazzy got home they were extremely tired and went straight to bed.

When I was helping Angel get dressed, she said, "Nudge has a lot of Barbies, Max. Do you thi-ink I can get some more?" _Think_ was interrupted by an enormous yawn.

I smiled. "Maybe, Angie Girl."

She smiled faintly and leaned against me and fell asleep. I held her, enjoying being close to my baby. But I was so tired. I couldn't wake her up, though.

I ended up falling asleep right there, but when I opened my eyes again, all I saw was the white ceiling and it was…moving?

I looked around and came face to shoulder with Fang. "Gah!"

"You get scared really easily, you know that?"

"Wha's happ'n?"

"You fell asleep in Angel's room so I'm taking you to yours," he whispered. He was so nice, I thought dreamily. Then I fell asleep, silently praying that I didn't snore like a boar hog in front of him. Not that I even cared. Nope…not one bit.

LINE

I woke up the next morning to Dr.M tapping me on the shoulder.

"Hey, Angel and Gazzy want to go to the park and Iggy won't be here today. Do you want to come with us?"

Ugh. I was sooo tired.

"Um…maybe?"

She laughed. "That's okay just…well, would you like to go to Fang's house instead?"

I could tell she didn't want to leave me here alone, and to be honest, it made me mad to think that she thought I couldn't stay alone for a few hours without someone holding my hand.

But, I didn't want to upset her. She was the closest thing to a mother I had had in ten years.

"Okay," I agreed.

She smiled. "Good. He's waiting downstairs." She walked out of the room.

What? He was already waiting on me? Stalker…

I quickly got ready and walked downstairs to find Fang pigging out on the counter.

"You look full," I stated as I saw him shove scrambled eggs down his throat.

He gave me thumbs up.

I ate a little bit and I followed him out the door and right across the street to his house.

He led me to his room, which was painted a light grey. Black furniture pieces dotted the room.

"Cheery," I observed.

"Ha-ha," he said sarcastically.

I smiled. Why did these people make me smile so much? Or even at all?

We sat down on his bed and just hung out for a while, talking about stupid stuff since neither of us were big talkers.

We got bored after a while so we decided to watch a movie. But when we opened the closet in the living room to find one, things went downhill. Quickly.

I screamed at, surprisingly, my biggest fear in the world. It was a spider.

Fang laughed at me as I jumped away and he bent down to look at it. He let it crawl onto his finger as I looked at him in horror.

"It's just a little jumping spider, Max," he said through his laughter. He got a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Harmless, see?"

I didn't even have time to scream as he threw it on me. But, then, I got to scream a whole lot. I looked like I was having a seizure as I jumped around in circles, screaming, trying to find where it was. I fell to the ground.

He laughed harder, and I soon found out why.

_The spider was still in his hand._

I looked at him in disbelief. "You- you never threw…spider…was on…but in your hand…"

This made him laugh harder. Then he did something that makes me scared to walk into his house to this day. He threw it on the ground and _let it walk away. _

"Wha-you just…"

He laughed again and reached down to grab my hand but when he did, he stopped short.

I looked at him in question.

"Max," he started, his face suddenly serious, and I soon realized why. My blood ran cold. "Max?" He turned my hand over a little more, so my palm was facing him, as well as my mistreated wrist.

He swallowed and sat down and just stared at me. I shifted on the ground, trying to make the situation less uneasy.

He took a deep breath and my breath caught. What was he going to do? Slowly explain to me that I needed to be admitted to an insane asylum? "It really isn't the easy way out, you know? I know it doesn't seem like that but it's the truth."

"How would you know?" I questioned, suddenly defensive. He didn't know what I was feeling or going through. He didn't know anything about me and he was just intruding, like he knew all my problems and how to make them better. Who did he think he was? I yanked my wrist back and put my other hand over it, as if it would hide what he had just seen and he wouldn't remember it.

He swallowed uneasily. "Because I've been there before."

"You don't know where I'm at."

"But I know what you're feeling-"

"You don't know anything about me," I said, getting angry. "Nothing at all."

"You don't know what it's like," I said, involuntarily continuing. "To not be held when you cry. Or get slapped for nothing. You don't know what it's like." I felt tears prick my eyes and I knew my voice would break soon. "You don't understand what it's like to wish that everyone else's problems were yours instead of the ones you have. You don't know what it's like to wish that all your worries were stupid. Something like what you're going to where to prom! Or who's going to ask out whom! And she said this and she said that! And you don't know what it's like to know you'll never have your mother back." A sob left my throat. "Because you watched her die!"  
>I was screaming by the end and when I was done I just burst into tears. This was so much more emotional than it usually was when I cut myself. I didn't like it. And I had only said a few of my problems. I was so emo.<p>

The house sounded unnaturally quiet with me screaming like I was. And I tried to stop, but I couldn't.

But that was okay, because this time when I cried, I had someone to hold me. I finally had someone there to hold me.


	6. CHAPTER 6

It seemed like hours until my sobs faded into single tears sliding down my blotchy cheeks, all the while Fang whispering comforting words into my ear. After a while, I just laid there, my head on his shoulder as I whimpered. He had me hugged tightly to him, and for once I felt safe, like nothing could hurt me because I had left all realistic connections of the real world.

I slowly sat up, kind of embarrassed. "You can't tell," I said not meeting his eyes. My voice was raspy and my throat felt clogged.

"Oh, yes, I can."

My eyes widened as I looked at him in shock.

"But I won't, unless you don't stop."

"But, I-I can't," I said, wanting to burst into tears again.

"Then let me help you," he whispered.

I looked at him and his face slowly approaching mine and my heart sped up. He kept getting closer, and closer, until…

Until the phone rang.

"That's uh…that's probably…um, I'll just..." He quickly stood up and went to get the phone, leaving more unstable then I probably ever was.

My face felt hot, and I felt sweat coating my body. I could hear my heart thrashing in my ears.

I was trying to figure out if it was time to take in a breath or let one out, when Fang ran into the room.

"Max."

I looked up. He had said it with firmness in his voice, only letting it waver slightly, but I could tell something was wrong.

"There's…there's been an accident."

LINE

We rushed through the hospital doors, completely on the wrong side of the hospital.

He muttered a cuss word. "Where are the elevators?" He asked mostly to himself.

I grabbed his hand and ran this way and that. Down multiple corridors and twists and turns dodging the occasional nurse or person bleeding profusely.

We hurriedly stepped inside. I let out a breath. My thoughts were running wildly and on top of that, I was claustrophobic and in a freaking elevator.

I punched the right button and it started to move. I got an instant headache like I always did in these horrid things.

"How did you know which way to go?"

"Can we just say that I've been in here a time or two?"

He gave me a look but nodded.

The elevator began to slow down some, so I figured we were almost there. Boy was I wrong.

Suddenly, the elevator lurched and I fell forward, right onto Fang and we fell over. He hit his head, but I didn't have much time to gauge his reaction because the lights went…poof. Gone. Out.

One light above slowly flickered on and I let out a sigh of relief. I hated the dark.

"We're…we're not moving," Fang said.

"Well thank you, Sherlock, for gracing us with your knowledge. I appreciate it."

"Very funny."

"I know I am."

I sighed. "Press the number thing."

He rolled his eyes but did so.

The elevator, however, didn't do as commanded.

I sighed again. "We're stuck."

He turned around to face me, eyes wide with a fake smile on his face. "Well looky here. I guess I'm going to be giving up my Sherlock Holmes title earlier than expected. Congrats, Max!"

I glared at him. This was going to be interesting. And boy was I right about that…

LINE

Fang made another circle in the elevator as he held up his phone in the air, looking for service.

I started to feel my claustrophobia set in. Different scenarios of me dying in this walnut were flashing through my mind. Some things didn't bother me. Like a movie theater or rollercoaster because it's open. This was closed in and it had me trapped, slowly squeezing in on me.

"Fang…we have to get out of here…n-now."

"What? Max, are you okay?" He came to stand in front of me. I slowly backed away from him and pushed myself against the wall. It made it seem bigger, even though the walls were slowly closing in on me. He stared at me for a moment while I had my panic attack. I hadn't even realized how close he was until he started talking to me.

"Max, you need to lie down," he spoke to me softly but held firmness in his voice. I did as he said, not sure why I wasn't trying to beat him to a pulp for telling me what to do.

I closed my eyes and he pulled my head into his lap. When did he sit down?

His leg felt warm against the side of my face. Kind of comforting, I noticed.

After a minute or two, he asked, "Better?"

I nodded. "Much."

"Good." He brushed some stray pieces of hair out of my face and I opened my eyes to be met with his deep, black orbs staring into mine. He was kind of cute, I noticed. He was very tall and lean too, but I knew I could beat the crap out of him if I wanted. That was always a plus. I wondered if he worked out. It wouldn't matter, though. All of his facial features were perfect. His eyes were outlined by his long eye lashes and I couldn't help but stare every time he blinked, because each time he opened his eyes again, it revealed the deep, black crystal orbs.

His eyes weren't really black, I noticed. Because when you're up close, you can tell that they're really-

My breath caught. When did he get so close? Was he moving closer? Why was he moving closer? What is he doi-?

And his lips were on mine.  
>I didn't have time to think about what had happened to me in the past, like my father doing this to me against my will. Or what was happening now. I didn't want to. I didn't need to, because it didn't matter. This was perfect, and his warm lips moving in sync with mine made it even better. It was almost like a fairy tale. I finally had my prince rescue me from harm and now I got to be the princess that I had secretly always wanted to be.<p>

I felt a jerk but I figured that was just Fang moving over to straddle me. We continued with our full blown make out session and, I suddenly heard a 'ding' and Fang looked up and his eyes widened. For a moment, I wondered if the 'ding' was my common sense trying to remind me what my name was.

I followed Fang's gaze to the doors…the open doors.

"Well," Iggy snickered. "At least they still have their clothes on." He laughed hysterically as he clutched the dark blue cast on his arm and walked away.

Dr.M did not look happy to say the least, but she didn't look too surprised either. There was a technician holding a screw driver and he looked annoyed, an old nurse who was shaking her head and laughing, and a younger nurse who looked like she wanted to strangle me and have a ride in the elevator with Fang for herself.

"Um…we heard you were in an accident. Everybody okay?" Fang made a great attempt at changing the subject. Look who's Sherlock now, buddy.

Oh, no. Angel. My baby could be dead and I was sitting in an elevator playing tonsil hockey with Fang.

"Everyone is fine," Dr.M said.

Well, okay, then. Maybe my little experience with Fang wasn't _that_ bad…

"Wait a minute…how old are you, Fang?" Dr.M asked.

"Fifteen."

"Max?"

"The same."

Oh my gosh. She was going to tell us that we were too young to-

"And you got here how, exactly?"

"The car…"

I sighed. It was a good thing he was intoxicatingly se-

Um… I said nothing…

"You illegally drove here?" she screeched, alerting the attention of a police officer who looked up from some paper work and narrowed his eyes at us.

"Well…"

"Keys. Now." She held out her hand.

"Max!" Angel ran up to me. "They gave me a lollypop because I did well when they gave me a shot, even though I cried and bit one of the doctors!" she informed me happily.

"Wow!"

She giggled and jumped into my arms and offered me a lick. Ewe. "No thank you."

"Humph." She jumped down and ran back in the room she came out of.

I sighed and put my hands on my face.

WEIRDEST DAY EVER!

**Hey, guys! Was that awesome or was that awesome? Tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**You know what I noticed? When I put up the last chapter, I never meant for Iggy to actually be in the car, but he ended up with a broken arm anyway. Weird. I didn't have a chance to read over this one, like I normally do, so it might completely suck. Whatevs. **

**I love you, all of my lovely reviewers!**

**Hi, Summer!**

**Disclaimer: Do I even have to go over this again?**

Everyone seemed to be okay. Angel had a few stitches on her stomach, Dr.M had a minor concussion, and Gazzy had a broken hand and some stitches on his forehead.

Once we were home that night, Dr.M had a long talk with me about the whole Fang…uh, 'incident'. And getting into a car with him and letting him drive me to the hospital illegally.

I figured I shouldn't tell her about the fact that I was actually the one driving…or about almost getting into our own accident. But I'll let Fang take the blame for a while. What? After that whole spider thing I should beat him to a pulp.

Dr. M's husband would be coming home in a few days. She didn't tell him about the accident because he was very over protective and worrisome. I wasn't all that excited about meeting him. I was just now getting used to everybody and now I had to meet someone else? My life was so unfair sometimes.

Fang was spending the night tonight, which was a plus. **(^.^) **

On the down side… we were having a thunder storm. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a wuss, but I got scared sometimes just like everybody else. And considering what I've been through, I think I have a right to be afraid sometimes. If you don't…go get stuck in an elevator. WITHOUT an extreme hotty with you! That would suck! But I wouldn't know anything about that…

Anyway… it was around nine thirty when we finally got home, and Dr. M sent us off to bed because it had been a 'long day'.

LINE

I was shivering under my blankets, whimpering every time I saw lightning flash or heard the majestic thunder rolling across the dark night sky. When it stopped for a short period of time, I slowly peaked outside of my blankets and looked at the clock. It read 3:30.

I slowly slipped out from under the covers and walked down the hall. I slowly slid the door open and peaked inside. Fang was watching another scary movie and Iggy was sprawled out on the ground, mouth wide open, and saliva sliding down his chin as he snored.

"And he wonders why he can't keep a girlfriend for more than a week," Fang observed. I looked up at him and smiled and he smiled back. My breath caught. I had never seen him smile like that before. His teeth were absolutely perfect. My tongue had been in that mouth before... I gulped. "What's up?" He turned off the TV.

Why was I in here? Was something wrong? No, I remember… something was wrong… Wasn't there?

Thunder roared across the sky and I yelped. Oh, yeah…_that. _

He let a grin play on his face. He patted the bed next to him and I went over and sat down and snuggled up against him.

Wait…did this bother him? No, of course it didn't. Did it? Should I move? But if I moved maybe he would think that he smells bad or something, (he did not smell anything like what is labeled as 'bad', by the way).

He comfortingly put his arm around me and squeezed me closer to him. Guess he didn't mind. I can't say that I blame him, though.

I fell asleep to the sound of his steady breathing. It was soft and gentle, but sounded masculine. Could a breath really be described, though? I guess so.

I woke up to laughter. Familiar laughter, like I had just heard it. It sounded like…Iggy? I pried my eyes open a little. It _was_ Iggy laughing, pointing at me and Fang as he doubled over. His hair was tousled and his dragon breath could kill an entire rose bush. I groaned. "What the…?"

I looked around and realized I was very close to Fang. Actually, _on _top_ of him. _I screeched.

I heard him let out a cuss word as he jumped out of the bed, going the opposite way I was.

"Max! My husband is almost home. Oh, I'm so excited! He is going to love you!" Dr. M rushed into the room. Fang and I quickly stood up. I tried to straighten out my hair.

"Get ready! Get ready now!"

"Iggy, you clean this room up before I don't let you cook for a week," she 'threatened'.

He turned around and made a face at her. "Ooh," I heard him mutter, but I saw the true fear in his eyes. What a moron. Dr. M could only cook desserts and Mexican food, which no one here was a big fan of.

**No offense to any Mexicans out there. I LOVE your food. I just had to…well…make Dr. M look like a complete idiot. =D ILY! 3**

All of us hurriedly got dressed and I brushed my teeth and hair, and headed down the stairs where everyone was waiting.

Dr. M let out a breath. "Okay everyone is ready."

No they weren't. "Where's-" I began, but was stopped short.

Angel ran into the room, no shirt on, holding up two shirts. Her pants were unzipped, and I'm pretty sure those were not her lacy underwear. He he…not that they were mine or anything…

"Oh, flipping fudge cakes…" Dr. M said. What did the fudge cakes do?

She ran to Angel and scooped her up, not stopping her full blown sprint at all. After a few minutes, they came back down stairs, Angel now fully dressed and the proper underwear, I'm assuming.

Dr. M held up the underwear and li=looked at me. "Um…these aren't mine…"

I felt my face get hot. "Just take them away."

Iggy started laughing and I saw Fang smirking. I cleared my throat.

After a while, we heard the door open and close.

"Ooh, ooh. Act natural," Dr. M said.

He walked into the room and my blood ran cold. I felt chills cover my already icy skin and y breathing turned ragged. Iggy bumped fists with his adoptive father as Gazzy went ran up and jumped into his arms and exclaimed, "Hi, Daddy!"

"What's up, buddy?"

He giggled and jumped down. He stepped forward and gave his wife a kiss. Angel talked to him as she hid behind Dr. M's leg. She was smiling and had a blush across her face. That was always what she did when she was shy. I knew she didn't remember him. I know I did.

He stepped forward and did a double take at me. A slow smile appeared on his face. It looked like the kind of smile people would label as sweet. I saw right through it, though, and it was by no means 'sweet'.

"It's nice to meet you…?"

"M-max," I stammered.

The smile widened. "It's nice to meet you, Max."

He held out his hand to me, and I did the only rational thing I could think of. I did what he had taught me not to do. I ran. I ran away, like I did with all of my problems. I ran from my father.

I felt tears prick my eyes as I ran down the sidewalk, having no idea where I was going.

Daddy was back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Boxtoplad999,**

**Yeah, I think awesome is what I'm going to have to go with too. Oh, and I wasn't sure about him being her husband until I wrote it down, so…**

**zoey and stark101,**

**I can't either!**

**Amazing,**

**Aaaaahhhhh! Don't die! You're one of my fans!**

**Jace'n'FangLover,**

**I turn 14 on Sep, 2.**

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**Don't worry! They'll be okay…in the end…**

**You-Are-A-Fridge-With-Wingss,**

**Grrr. Trade pen names with me!**

**Reignbeau,**

**Thank you!**

**your loving sister,**

**yeppers.**

**JealousMindsThinkAlike,**

**Sorry about the delay!**

I ran, and ran, and ran. After what seemed like miles, I changed my direction and ran into an alley and basically just collapsed. Tears streamed down my face, but no sound escaped me. There was no point in crying about anything. I would rather feel numb again. Have all my problems and emotions just…bleed away when they were really still there.

I heard footsteps approach me. I tried to act like I didn't care, mainly for myself though. This place was deserted, or so it would have looked.

"Max." a familiar, soft voice gently floated towards me. I let out a deep breath through my tears. I didn't answer. "Max."

"G-go aw-way." I burst into more tears.

He bent down and lifted my face up. I slowly opened my eyes. He smiled gently at me. "No."

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back down on the hard concrete and whimpered. He put his arms under me and scooped me up. I yelled at him to put me down as I wrapped my arms around him.

Okay, so I was a little upset and acting like a red neck on meth. Cut me some slack here, people. I had my reasons! He walked a ways back from where I came from. "You can't take me back there," I whimpered.

He shushed me gently and told me to just relax. I wondered if he was being nice or was trying to find the nearest insane asylum without alerting me. Either was likely.

I buried my face in his neck, just whimpering over and over again, unable to stop myself. But I liked how warm his skin was. It was so comforting. He was so comforting. He walked forever, and to be honest, it was kind of soothing. The same thing never changing. No bumps to run into, no bridges to cross. Just…walking. If that had been my life, I could deal.

"I wish life could be like this," I whispered.

I knew he was looking at me weirdly. I was trembling, crying, screaming, and out of the blue calmed down and told him, "I wish life was like this." He pressed his lips down onto my temple and wiped my tears away. He sat down on a bench. I realized we were in the park.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell anyone. Even if I called the police on Jeb, the things he could do in the time it would take them to get to that house. Trust me I knew. He would convince me to tell them it was a prank. I knew that for a fact too. Believe me.

"I can't," I whimpered.

He sighed, but I knew it wasn't out of annoyance, but I wasn't sure what. We sat there for a while and I realized that when I told him I couldn't, he didn't pressure me. He didn't make me feel uncomfortable about it, about anything. He made me feel safe. I told him so.

"I like you holding me," I said absentmindedly. "You make me feel safe."

I felt him kiss my temple, and the lips that usually brought me out of the real world suddenly pushed me back into it. I felt my face scorch with embarrassment.

"I can't believe I just said that." My shaking hands came up to my face to cover it. I always did that when I was embarrassed. I sobbed again as the flow of tears started to plunge down my cheeks. My head fell on his shoulder as I tried desperately to make it all go away. I tried to cry it all away and not feel it any more. It didn't work.

We sat there for what seemed like hours. Well, actually, it _was_ hours. It was after dark when he stood up to take me home. "Stop." My voice was hoarse from crying and my throat still had a painful lump stuck inside. He looked down at me. I had known him for about three weeks, but I didn't need to spend years with him to know what the look he was giving me meant. He was going to take me back there no matter how much I tried to fight him. The look was apologetic, but firm. He would take me back there kicking and screaming if he had to. That made me angry. Very angry, but mainly just sad and sort of selfish because all I could think about was why I couldn't get one thing I wanted. I couldn't have one thing go my way. I couldn't even make cookies, not even when I had put all the right amounts of all the right ingredients in the bowl. Dr. M had even walked me through it step by step and still told me what to do as I went.

I was so pathetic and useless. What was wrong with me?

As we approached the house (against my will, may I add), I started whimpering again. I felt like bursting into tears again, too. Oh, wait, I was already crying. I was so pathetic. I couldn't even tell that I was crying. That made me cry harder. I started whimpering the word 'no' in his ear over and over again. I couldn't do this.

He stopped suddenly and looked down at me, his arms not wavering in the slightest as he carried my dead weight. "I don't know how to help you because you won't tell me what's wrong." He inhaled deeply. "But I've been hurt before, too, Max. I know what it's like to think that no one cares and nothing good will ever happen to you. I know what it's like to want to feel nothing at all. And then want to feel pain because you can't feel anything else. No, I don't know what's wrong right now and I don't know why you just got so upset, but I know how you feel. No one here is going to hurt you, though. You're safe now, Max, so I don't know what's wrong with you."

I don't either, I thought bitterly.

"But you can tell me if you want. You can always tell me anything, at any time. I don't care if you walk over to my house in the middle of the night to tell me you liked those cookies you made."

This made me smile a little.

"Okay?"

I hesitantly nodded and sniffled.

I would have believed that statement about me being safe here, had I known that wasn't true. But I believed everything else, because I had nothing else to believe in. except my razor. I wasn't sure how good that was working out for me, though. It didn't matter. If it made everything go away, then i would be fine.

I suddenly wished I had told him everything. I suddenly wished I had nothing to tell him.

He stared at me for a moment and I looked into his deep eyes, silently pleading him to take me away from them all and just be my prince, leaving all traces of reality gone forever.

He didn't see it, or he just didn't want to do that with me. Again, either was likely. He started walking forward again and I buried my face in his neck, crying again.

He carried me into the dark house and I suddenly had the urge to be very quiet. I couldn't let Jeb know I was back. Fang carried me up the stairs and took me to my room, where I saw Angel sitting in Iggy's lap, asleep, tear trails still evident on her pretty, little face.

I cried harder. I was so horrible, leaving my little girl alone here with him and all of these people, not once thinking twice about her.

Iggy glanced at me and gave me a little smile, and then he turned to Fang. Something was spoken in the silence between them, but I wasn't sure what. Iggy picked Angel up gently and carried her out of the room and Fang approached the bed and laid me down on it. As he started to stand up, my body became its own self. My arms reached out to him. "Don't leave me."

He lied sown next to me without any hesitance or question. He wrapped his arms around me now that he knew that it made me feel safe. Great…

LINE

I gasped silently. That was a terrible dream. Almost like a flashback, but it made what had really happened even worse. Even my self-conscience mind tried to torment me. The clock read: 2:05. I got up and went into the bathroom, almost in a zombie like manner. I found the razor.

I could make everything go away with this little thing. Forever…all I would have to do is just cut a little deeper than I normally did and then…it would all be gone.

I pressed it to my skin, liking the way the cold metal bit the wounded skin there. I wasn't going to kill myself, I decided. I couldn't leave Angel…or Fang…

I slid the sharp metal across my skin, though. Tears leaked out of my eyes, along with the blood. I looked up into the mirror, only to feel a hand wrapping around mine as I noticed Fang standing behind me. I would've woken up the whole household, had my scream not been muffled by Fang's strong hand.

I looked up at him, shocked past belief.

"Give me the razor." His voice was soft and gentle, but it showed no room for any argument. He would make me give it to him.

I clutched it like it was my life line, mainly because it was. "No."

He stepped forward so that we were only inches away from each other. His voice was still soft when he spoke, but it was more firm this time. "Well you're going to. I wasn't at the time, but I'm glad now that I had somebody take mine away from me."

I gasped. He had cut himself too?

"I can't," I sobbed.

His hand clasped onto my hand that was holding the razor, my life saver. "It's the only thing that I have to-"

"Hurt yourself more? Make your skin feel numb so you can make your mind think you're numb too? And only for a little while, too. You can't live a lie, Max. You have to face what's going on around you. You can't pretend anymore. This is life. Live it, no matter how hard it is sometimes."

I was utterly shocked. I'd never had someone tell me that before. I was pissed. But when I spoke, I was trembling and whimpering like a leaf hanging on a tree, waiting to plummet slowly to its death.

"I can't. I can't do anything, I can't-"

"But what you can do," he said gently as he pulled the razor out of my hands. "…Is let someone help you do it." Who was supposed to help me? I was living with the man I had been running from for the past ten years.

"But I don't have anyone." I burst into tears and fell against his strong body, still clothed in his clothing from yesterday.

"You have me, Max." I stared into his beautiful eyes. "Let me help you."

I was about to object, but he swallowed my words up into his warm mouth, now connected to mine.

**This didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted to, but I wrote it relly quickly because it's 9:53 and my family is leaving to go to Miami. I probably wont be able to update in a while, but read and review and…save the planet. BYE!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Soooooooo sorry I couldn't update! It's just the beginning of May right now that I'm typing this but I can't upload because I don't have Wi-Fi. My Grandpa is sick and in the hospital too, so I have other things to worry about. He might be able to come out soon, though. *mental happy dance* Any way…**

**Maxrideanime989, **

**I'm glad you feel special! You should, you're one of my loyal fans. ILY!**

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***gasp* I was about to copy a copier. :o**

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**Aaawwww! I normally say is that awesome or awesome, but you said FREAKING AWESOME. That makes YOU freaking awesome. =D**

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**THANK YOU!**

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**THANK YOU!**

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**Yeah…it makes me wonder why, too. He he…**

**Ellie**

**I'm trying!**

**Lyra**

**But I am busy!**

**Kay, guys, I know I missed some people up top but reviews just keep showing up so, sorry if I missed you!**

_Jeb had me pressed against the wall. My breathing was ragged, my heart was racing,_

"_Da-dad…"_

_I didn't know why I even called him that. _

"_Hm? Something wrong, sweetie? You seem a little…tense."_

"_Daddy," I whimpered. "Stop…"_

_He shoved my side. _

"_Stop!""_

_He hit me on my side over and over again, whispering my name every time he hit me._

"_No…stop!"_

"Stop!" I shot up in my bed, my head knocking right into Fang's. His hand rested on my waist where he had been gently nudging me to wake up. He stared into my teary eyes.

"Hey," he said softly and brushed his hand across my cheek. I shied away from the soft touch. He didn't look hurt, which I was happy about, but he still looked upset. He waited for me to calm down a little bit before speaking again. "You okay?"

I nodded, sure I looked like a bobble head and without stopping, my nodding turned into shaking as I switched my answer from a 'yes' to a 'no'. He wrapped me in a hug, causing me to almost jump out of my skin as I gasped, but soon nestled into him and let my tears fall.

"You're alright, Max."

I knew that wasn't true but it still made me feel better. He always made me feel better. I buried my face in his shoulder and cried. It seemed like forever until I stopped.

He carried me down the stairs and I realized it was still dark. "What time is it?" My voice was groggy and cracked when I spoke.

"Around five thirty. Why?"

I didn't answer. I didn't have enough energy to. He sat down on the couch and we just sat there until Dr.M came down half an hour later to go to work.

She looked at me, sitting in Fang's lap, tears streaks painted across my face.

She gave me a slight sympathetic look, but she still looked almost…angry, maybe hurt. Either way, it made me feel uncomfortable. "You okay?" she asked.

I nodded, lying straight to her face. It didn't matter, though. An idiot could have figured out that I was…well, half dead.

She left the house quietly, her eyes stuck on me until the door closed.

I took in a shaky breath.

Fang started rubbing my back.

It calmed me down and for just a little while, everything was peaceful and just…quiet. I liked it when it was quiet, I noticed. Fang's steady breathing floated to my ear and warmed it, making it have chills pepper it and ghost all the way down my neck at the same time.

I liked that too.

For a moment, with him there, cradling me, it almost made everything alright, and I felt like the invincible Maximum Ride again.

Then Jeb came down stairs.

My breathing sped up and I was back to trembling and crying again.

"Oh, hello, Max. Fang." He nodded at him and smiled at me.

"After you ran out last night, I realized I didn't even really get to meet you." He was such an idiot. "I'm Jeb." He held out his hand and I tried to glare at him. Notice the word 'tried' in that sentence. I hid my face by sticking my head in the crook of Fang's neck. "I've been trying to get Valencia to adopt you for a while now. I've been looking for someone else to adopt, after James I mean, and when I saw you, I knew you were the one."

I looked up at him, tears clouding my vision and face. I felt horror paint the features of my blotchy face, and I knew he got pleasure from seeing it there. I felt like I was dying. You know the usual.

I ran. But not outside this time, no, I ran to my bedroom. Why I didn't know. But then again, I actually hadn't made the decision to run until I realized I was flinging myself on top of my mattress. I climbed under the duvet. I heard footsteps. All too familiar footsteps. I heard the door creak closed, like when you watch a scary movie and it gets quiet and you hear the door creak and then…the killer pounces.

This was one of those moments.

I was going to scream, but I knew better. Jeb had made sure to thoroughly teach me that little lesson. I settled for whimpers.

"Oh, Maxi-Pad." He ran a finger down my cheek. "Don't be afraid. Daddy's here."

He laughed as he watched me cry. "I've been looking for you for a while, now. That idiot, Valencia. I told her I wanted somebody named Max and she found that little creep uh- what do you little senseless teenagers call him? Oh, that's right, Iggy. God, he's annoying. But, you know, I could deal. It was all to find you…and Angel, of course."

"Don't yo-you touch h-her." I tried to make it sound threatening. But as seen in that last sentence, it didn't go exactly as planned.

He pushed his face up to mine. "What'cha gonna do about it, Maxi?"

I tried to force myself to scream, but it came out as more of a tiny squeal. "Quiet, Maxi," he taunted.

He started kissing up my cheek when the door was rapped on. "Hey, Max, are you okay?"

"We're fine,"Jeb answered. "Just…_talking_." He winked at me when he said that.

Fang shook the door knob a little, seeming agitated that it was locked. Welcome to the club, buddy.

"Are you guys working things out or something?"

"Yeah, _something_…" Jeb smiled at me. He looked at me and leaned forward and whispered, "We'll finish this later. I told you to never run away from me, you know."

I could suddenly feel my heart again as more tears streaked down my face. He kissed my cheek again as I sobbed.

"See you later, baby."

Then he got up and walked out the door, off to work, leaving me feeling more helpless than ever, and a very concerned Fang.

But it didn't matter who was concerned or scared. It didn't matter what anybody did to help me. This was my life and there was nothing anybody could do to change it.

**Okay, guys, this didn't turn out exactly as planned, but I'll have another one out there soon.**

**That reminds me (somehow o_o) how can you check and see who's favorited me or my story? Cuz I went on somebody's profile (two actually, but I don't want to brag. He he, no way) and I was going through their fav. stories and my story was there! I was like :o. AWESOMENESS!**

**Please do as asked or…no more Faxness! Mwahahaha. Ok not really, I love them too much.**

**BYE! 3**

**~SAVANNAH~**


	10. Chapter 10

**kay peoples, here i is! and i bring to you good news of great joy. (see i know my scripture!) since I'm writing this like, 2 seconds after i edited the last chapter, i have no other reviewers. mainly because i don't have Wi-Fi, can't upload/ update, so therefore, no one besides me has even seen the last chapter yet.**

**so…here it is…**

I wouldn't answer any of Fang's questions, not that he pressured me a lot, but at the time it sure did feel like it. I couldn't take it. I couldn't take any of this. Not now, not ever. Especially not now. Have I said that already?

He sat in my room with me, holding me tight against his body. My face pushed against his chest, hiding from everything around me. I breathed in the deep, alluring scent that was Fang. That's pretty much the only way to describe it. The boy smells. Good, I mean…well, most of the time. But that's beside the point. He rubbed my back, massaging away all of the evidence of stress. I 'm pretty sure I was about to fall asleep, when Angel ran into the room.

"Max? Are you okay? That man, Jeb, looks familiar. Have we met him before?

Fang gave me a look and I quickly shook my head no, mainly to Fang instead of her.

"No, sweetie. You've never met him before," I lied. It was a bad one too. But somewhere deep down, I secretly wished that Fang would find out and make all my troubles go away.

"Oh, okay." Then she blew me a kiss and turned to run out the door, but changed her mind and jumped on the bed with us. I wasn't sure if I was happy or disappointed.

She looked down at me, her big blue eyes so young and innocent. "Why are you sad?" She asked, wiping a tear off my cheek. She inspected it, as if checking to see if it was an actual tear.

True, she had never seen me cry. But I always tried to stay strong and happy for her, so she would have someone to lean on. She couldn't ever be as hopeless and sad as I was.

"I'm okay, Angie girl." My voice was crackly, even though I had breathed out the words, my voice only showing up occasionally.

She sat down on the bed and hugged me, hard. Her skinny little arms that couldn't pick up her own suitcase; they hugged me harder that a freight train would hit me, nearly knocking the wind out of me. Even though she almost killed me, it meant more than anything.

I forced my tears to stop. "Oh good, you're better now. I actually had another question." She raised her eye brows.

I looked at her expectantly, masking my tears and emotions. I wanted my razor back. I tried to swallow the painful lump in my throat.

"Okay, Max, do you like Fang?" Her blue, "innocent" eyes portrayed nothing but expectance of an answer. I looked at her dumbfounded as I barely heard Fang chuckle behind me.

"Uh…um…"

My red face better not have been the reason Fang started laughing harder.

"You know, Max!" She exclaimed. "Like Ken and Barbie?"

"Well, maybe… like…um…"

She rolled her eyes. "Teenagers." She threw her hand up in the air, dismissing it as she walked away.

She walked over to the (previously unnoticed) Gazzy, grabbed his hand, and sauntered down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Gazzy followed Angel down the stairs. He had promised her he would play with her stupid little Barbie doll. He didn't get it. Why have a little doll and pretend to walk it around the table for hours? He had told her this before but she had said that his action figure dolls were the same thing, but they weren't!<p>

Barbie wore a dress and a smile. His action figures carried around guns and shot each other!

And then, she told him they weren't even real! Was she crazy?

What was wrong with girls these days? So what if you had to help them stand? They were short. You had to help short people stand up, sometimes. Just like babies. Why else would they need help? He sighed. Angel was just all…girl.

That was the only problem.

She was smart. Like how she knew that babies weren't actually from the stork and you had to get babies from the mama's tummy. He was shocked to say the least. I guess he would have to go to her when he needed help at school. When he had asked the teacher where babies came from, she told him that a mommy and daddy's love was so big, it spilled over and made a baby.

_My teacher must be an idiot_, he thought.

He sighed.

Angel was, dare he think it, kind of pretty too. Although, she didn't beat Max. He giggled and his face got red as he thought about it. But Angel was a definite keeper.

"What are you laughing at?" She smiled at him. Why did girls have to smile so much?

"Nothing," he replied.

"Here," her face got red as she looked at him. She always blushed around him. Why? He couldn't blame her though; he often felt his face get red around her, too. "You can play with her first."

He took the doll.

"Why do you like her so much?"

"Because she's pretty!"

"But you're prettier," he told her, and then he freaked. "I didn't mean that! Well not that you're ugly. I just meant that-that-"

She giggled. "It's okay, Gazzy! I think you're…wait, what do girls call guys when they're pretty?"

He rolled his eyes. She was smart but she had her moments.

"It's handsome. Duh."

"Oh." She giggled. "I think you're handsome, then."

He smiled. She might be a girl but maybe she wasn't _that _gross.

They smiled at each other as she reached over and took his hand.

"Ew, don't be gross, Angel." He snatched his hand away. What if she had cooties?

"I thought you liked me."

"I do, but holding hands? Only old people do that, people like Max and Fang."

"Max isn't old, she's... oh, well, yeah, fifteen is old."

"Exactly," he told her, hiding the smug smile he had.

She was only gross sometimes and she agreed with everyhting he said _and she's a girl!_

Ah, life was good.

**Okies, just randomly decided to do some…Azzy there for ya. Five year old version. How'd you like?**

**Read and review because reviews make me happy. Just like ice cream. :)**

**Oh, and due to my lack of updates, I have 2 new stories for you, my lovelies. {Did I kill that with spelling or is it right?}**

**I'm leaving.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, I'm back, peoples. I have a few new stories in my head too, so, that should make up for my absence. Right? Of course. Okay, so here it is.**

It seemed like forever until I quit crying, but when Fang and I stepped out of the room and saw Gazzy and Angel in their five year old love. At least somebody was happy. I hope you picked up my optimism in that sentence.

After Iggy made me food, like he always did, (have I mentioned how much I love him?) we all went into the living room and watched TV all day. I agreed to watch some stupid thing on Spike though I secretly wanted to watch _Say Yes to the Dress_. But Angel started crying when we changed the channel from Dora, so we changed it back and only she was happy. Actually, Gazzy seemed to be enjoying it more than Angel but he tried to hide it on front of the older boys.

I didn't have a very good day, and Fang was all worried and got me everything I wanted. Not that I minded that part…

But, I was skittish all day and Fang had no problem with trying to help me, but it actually made it worse. He was sitting there, hugging me and kissing me all day. It just reminded me of Jeb and I was freaked.

Of course, it didn't help when he got home.

"Hi, kids. _Max_."

I shivered slightly and looked down at my hands, which were involuntarily fiddling with themselves. I saw Fang looking at me and then Jeb, and then back again, some sort of slight recognition that I did not like Jeb in his eyes. I leaned into Fang slightly, holding his hand harder than it looked like I was.

"What would you guys like for dinner?" he asked.

They decided on pizza while I didn't say anything. Nobody noticed, and even while it made me feel upset, I was glad no one made me talk. I just wanted to sleep even though I had done nothing all day.

We didn't have to wait on Dr.M because she had an emergency at her clinic with a dying cat or something, so we ate as soon the delivery guy got there with it.

Angel and Gazzy devoured theirs and I didn't even realize that when Fang and Iggy reached for theirs it was actually their second piece. I ate a small piece slowly, not noticing that I didn't even like the kind I was eating until I was finished.

"Did I tell you we were going to the beach?" Jeb asked suddenly. He stared at me as he said this.

"Wow, really, the beach? That sounds so much fun! Hey, Angel, did I tell you about the time I met a mermaid?"

She gasped. "_You _met a mermaid? Where, when?"

She started jumping up and down from her seat on the floor as Gazzy looked triumphantly at her. "Well, you know, I've seen a lot. They all like me, especially Ariel."

"MAX! He's met Ariel!"

She turned back to him, fully concentrated on hearing every syllable that exited his mouth as he told the story of when Ariel and Sebastian saved his life.

"Cool, when?" Iggy asked.

"Tomorrow, and, Fang, you are most definitely invited."

He smiled. "Okay, thanks. I'll tell my mom."

Jeb nodded and, for a moment, looked humane and decent.

I couldn't believe he was doing this to me, and the nerve he had to even go back to a beach, knowing what he had done there, and bringing me with him, _again. _I had to come up with a way to get out of this. Angel couldn't swim, I wouldn't even let her get anywhere near water except in the bath tub and I was with her at all times, heck,_ I_ didn't even know how to swim. Maybe it would be a good idea to learn if I was going to be near water with… _him._

"Um…Angel, Angel can't swim."

"Then I'll help her," Jeb told me.

At that moment, I felt more courageous and ready to kill than I ever had before, and considering I had never felt that before, well, I was mad.

I was off the couch and facing off to Jeb, him towering over me before I knew it. "_What_ did you just say?"

"What, you have too much water in your ears, Maxi? Your mother had that problem when she stayed under the water for too long, but she had a tendency to do that, if you know what I mean."

I did something I had dreamed my whole life of doing. I kicked him, hard, and when he doubled over, I punched him as hard as I could. Before I could do it again, Fang was pulling me away, kicking and screaming curses at Jeb.

He set me down in the kitchen and it tried to fight him but it was no use.

"Max!" he yelled. "What are you doing? How does he even know your mother?"

I screamed at him to let me go but his hand locked securely around my wrists didn't budge. His hand went up to my face, and for a second, I thought he might hit me.

He ran it gently down my cheek, chasing a tear that fell down it.

"Max," he said, softer this time, almost a whisper. "I wish I could understand you, I wish you would talk to me about this… whatever _this_ is, but I really care for you, and I want to help you, but I cant. Not if you don't tell me what this is all about.

My head buried itself in his chest as I realized he wasn't even holding my wrists anymore.

"What's wrong?" he asked, more firmly this time.

I sobbed. "You won't even believe me if I tell you."

"Of course I will. How could you even say that?" The look of hurt in his eyes sliced me like a sword.

"Jeb, he," I quieted my voice, afraid that someone might hear. "He killed my mother."

His eyes seemed to flash with different emotions. And I felt more afraid and alone than I had in forever. I knew he didn't believe me, but why would he? I was just… Max. The orphan.

His face leaned down in front of mine to stare at me and I closed my eyes, knowing that he was about to hit me.

I felt his lips on mine, just for a second. I opened my eyes.

"Then let's get him in prison until he rots to nothing."

I was almost sure my cheeks would freeze because they hurt so badly from smiling.


	12. Chapter 12

**I lOvE gIrRaFfEs-**

**I ALWAYS laugh at your reviews! Oh, btw, I have a gag reflex just to let you know.**

**Serenaisbestezrq387-**

**It's coming it's coming! To the violent ones! 3**

**MaxRide125-**

**YAY!**

**Purplefreak111-**

**Thank you!**

**JealousMindsThinkAlike-**

**Boxtoplad999-**

**He he, yeah…**

**Castaway5-**

**All in good time**

**Summer-**

**Summer!**

**Some Like It Fluffy-**

**Ha-ha thank you! **

**Scarred Chapter 12**

Rain dropped on the roof of the Martinez house, lightning electrified the sky and loud claps of thunder rolled across the sky soon after. Max sat up wide awake. She was terrified of storms, but in a way, she could relate to it.

Fang, the only other person awake in the house, watched through the window, ninety nine percent sure that Max was watching too.

Fang felt like he knew Max, but at the same time, barely knew a thing about her. Why hadn't she said anything about Jeb before? And, maybe she just thought he looked like the man who murdered her mother…? How could she be sure, plus that happened a really long time ago. And she was emotionally unstable. How could he even be sure?

And what was he supposed to do? Call up the cops and tell them he has a murderer for them to come arrest because an emotionally unstable girl said that he murdered her mother ten years ago. He didn't think so. And what about Dr. M? What was he supposed to tell her? Oh, hey, your husband really hates you and has just been looking for his daughter so he can scare the crap out of her. Oh, and by the way, he's a murderer too. Again, he didn't think so.

He looked down at his watch: 3:07. Three hours before they had to catch their flight to the Keys.

He sighed. He… he didn't know what to do. And the thing that was bothering him the most? What was he supposed to tell Max? That he didn't believe her? Of course he believed her! He trusted her, but, if she didn't even trust herself, maybe… maybe she was just telling herself things…? Maybe she was just so ready to put everything behind her and let the past be the past, she just thought Jeb really looked like her father and that was enough? They didn't have proof. Sure she was a witness, but, it would just be her word against his. He sighed, and got out of bed, walking out of the room and straight into Max's, knowing she was waiting for him.

"Hey," he said softly. He pulled her trembling form to him.

She felt safe in his arms and, suddenly, nothing was wrong anymore. When she stopped crying and heard Fang sigh, she briefly wondered if he got annoyed with her constant fright and crying.

"I… I need to talk to you."

She nodded.

"It's about Jeb." Her head shot up and he wondered why he had brought it up, but he needed to let this out, something that he didn't allow himself to do often.

"Are you, um, you know, sure that's him?"

Thunder raged outside, but, somehow, the room seemed still and quiet, like before the calm of a storm, or a time bomb. It blew up.

"I knew you weren't going to believe me." She pushed herself off of him.

"It isn't that, Max. It's not that at all. It's just… We don't want to start this, especially if it turns out to be nothing."

She looked at him. She didn't yell, didn't hit him, she didn't scream. "You know that my mother is dead, I saw it happen. And you think that letting her dead body have justice will turn out to be nothing?" her voice was soft, barely making her statement a question. She looked down at her hands, trying not to make eye contact with him so she didn't have to see that this was really Fang.

"No, but, what if he just looks like him?"

"The other day, he held me down on the bed and kissed me, told me that he had been looking for me, and that he would have to finish with me later because you were banging on the door."

"Wha'? Why didn't you scream or something?"

"Do you _have any idea_ what he can do to me? He _killed_ my mother!"

Fang let his head fall into his hands and he rubbed his eyes. What was he going to do? He looked up at Max, who started crying again, and he held her close, both wishing that he never had to let go.

LINE

"This is gonna be great!" Gazzy said jumping up and down on the plane seat. "Wait… how do you work this thing?" He started playing with the puke bag, trying to figure out what it was.

After the long flight, they stepped into the airport, Gazzy and Angel immediately asking or every food item and toy they saw.

They booked a hotel, Dr. M and Jeb in one room, Gazzy who looked like he was going to cry when he couldn't room with Angel, got his wish when Dr. M caved and let them. Iggy and Fang was together, leaving Max alone.

"It's alright, I promise," she told Dr. M.

"Oh, are you sure, Hun?"

"Yeah, I promise." She put on a fake smile. The only one who noticed was Fang.

That night, she heard small tapping noises on her door. She knew who it was immediately and ran to the door. Then she hesitated. Maybe it wasn't Fang… maybe it was Jeb.

"Max, Max? Max, it's me." Okay so it wasn't Jeb. She opened the door.

"Hey."

She opened the door for him to come in. "I know you don't like sleeping in here by yourself."

She blushed slightly, trying to hide it, and then went and sat down on the bed and he sat next to her and lied down. She reluctantly did the same. He wrapped his arms around her, knowing that she would soon relax, just like she always did.

LINE

That next day they went down to the beach, and Max watched Angel and Jeb like a hawk. But she couldn't for long. She knew this beach. She knew that ten years ago there weren't any happy faces like there was today. Just death. She was so distracted, she could barely even think about Angel, but Jeb stayed away from her anyway as Gazzy and she waded in the water finding shells for their sand castle. As depressed as she was she couldn't help but notice how cute she looked in her butterfly bathing suit and Fang in his…

"You sure you don't want to swim?" Iggy asked her.

"Positive."

After about an hour of sitting in the sand she was extremely bored and, for some reason, she wanted to swim. But she still sat there, still as ever, pretending to read a book, not noticing it was upside down. Fang noticed, though. He noticed everything about Max.

"Want to go for a walk?" he asked her.

Max glanced at Angel. There were too many people here for him to… do anything, so she said, "Okay."

He helped her up and they walked down the beach in an awkward silence. They got to a secluded area, where the many people turned into black spots across the bay.

"What's up?" he asked.

She knew the meaning behind the words, but she didn't answer it, instead just saying, "The sk-"

A scream broke the air, all the way from where they were at. The people on the beach suddenly turned into one giant blob as they crouched over something… or someone.

**Ooh, a cliffy. Don't you love me? 3**

**Okay so, bye.**


	13. Chapter 13

**SCARRED CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

We ran as fast as we could. Fang was outrunning me a little bit but I wasn't far behind. When we got there I saw something that would have made my heart stop if it hadn't been for all of the adrenaline in my body.

"Max!" Angel screamed when she saw me. Her leg was red and tears ran down her red face. Sand was sticking and drying to her feet from where she sat in Dr. M's lap, who was speaking with someone over the phone.

"Jellyfish," Iggy said, walking up to us.** (And you thought it had something to do with Jeb! HA, HA and HA!) **

"The ambulance is coming." Dr. M tried to sound calm when she spoke. Angel reached out for me, a flattering and scary feeling. I hadn't held her in weeks, I realized, and it was a relief to know that I hadn't been replaced. I heard the sirens in the distance and shivered. They were the sound that haunted me.

They rushed us to the hospital, me and Dr. M the only ones in the ambulance, the rest riding with Jeb right behind us.

Why did everything have to happen at the beach? I might have liked it if it didn't, you know, have death everywhere and all.

Angel started screaming when they gave her a shot, something every little person was afraid of, but then she quieted down, going right to sleep as one of them rubbed something on her leg and the other drew blood for a blood test.

There was too much drama in my life. This couldn't be happening. Not my baby, not my little Angel. Angie girl. The girl who could make me quit crying by singing the God forbidden Pillow Pet song, singing most of the wrong words.

"It doesn't seem to be looking that severe," one of the EMT's told me, noticing that I was crying at the same time I did. "It looks like a very common sting that is one hundred percent treatable."

I held back a sob, it turning into a small whimper, as I nodded, trying to shake everything away.

LINE

"… And then everything should be fine," the nurse told us. I tried not to think too much about the 'should be' part in that sentence.

"When can we see her?" Fang took the thoughts I was trying to force out of my mouth and spoke them himself.

"Soon," the nurse said. "We just need to watch her for an hour or so, and then she'll be put in room 524."

After asking us if we had any questions, the short stout woman wobbled away, leaving me clinging to Fang.

After a few minutes, which seemed like forever to me, Dr. M suggested that we leave.

"No." Everyone stared at me. "I'm not leaving without her."

"Max," Fang cut in, "maybe we should just-"

"I said no!"

A few people turned to stare at me.

"Max, hunny,-"

Jeb pulled Dr. M to the side and whispered something in her ear, and after a moment, she nodded and said, "Okay."

"I'll stay with you, Max," Jeb said.

I saw Fang's eyes flash before he said, "Um, yeah, me too."

Jeb looked down at his shoes and clenched his jaw as he nodded. "Alright." The words were taut with undetectable anger to everyone but me, and that was a scary feeling, but I was glad Fang would be staying with me.

I was always glad when Fang was with me.

LINE

Fang had been waiting for a while, I could tell, before he excused himself to the bathroom, intending to back very soon.

I didn't look up.

When the door closed, Jeb spoke very softly, but it was full of ironic power that frightened me. "You're very tense, Max," he told me matter of factly and casually. It made it all that more scary. "Of course, it has been a while since you've been to a hospital." He actually chuckled. "And then, leaving your mother to recover here, thinking she was dead…" he laughed at my face. He was just… hysterical. "You were so young, you believed anything!

"Think she's remarried now, might even have some of her own kids."

I looked down. He was lying, I knew it. But his words made me bring up some hope that I had buried deep inside me, and now it was maybe just laced with curiosity.

Fang stepped out of the bathroom, not noticing the difference in me or Jeb, as he had pretended to be asleep. Fang started to mouth something to me, but I held up my hand to stop him. I knew Jeb wasn't asleep yet. We waited, and then he started his trademark snoring. I sighed, and with one last look at Angel, without any warning, I bolted out of the room.

I heard Fang step out and call my name, but I was long gone. I ran into the elevator and pressed the button. The last thing I saw was Fang barely able to get the tips of his fingers through before the doors closed. I pressed the button. It went down, the wrong way, and an old man stepped inside. Then I got to the floor I needed to go. I stepped in front of the old man rather quickly, and he cursed me, but I couldn't hear the rest of his sentence because I was already at the counter.

I waited timidly, suddenly feeling very stupid and alone, and I secretly wished Fang had been able to open the doors.

"May I help you?"

"Um… yes." I wasn't sure what to say.

She looked at me expectantly.

"Uh… I sort of needed to know what… well, what happened to a woman who was in here a while ago…"

She looked down and made a weird face and then looked at her computer. "Name?"

"Marie Ride."

"There's a few. Uh…" She looked at the computer screen, trying to find something different from all of them. "Okay, how old was she?"

"Around… twenty- seven." I felt even more stupid. My mother was dead, she had been for most of my life and she would be dead for the rest too.

"Yes, she checked in December seventh of 2001. Had an accident at the beach while she was drunk and because of her record of drunk driving and violence as a teenager, and her child's bruises which were located on her stomach and wrists which the father said she caused, the father… looks like a Jeb Ride, was given custody of the little girl. Huh, people these days. Good thing the child was given to a safe parent."

I think she said something else, but I couldn't be sure. Were my ears ringing? I was… falling. The floor didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. It even smelled good, and it was warm and firm, kind of soft as it soaked up my unnoticed tears.

"Max? Hey, baby, up, up, there we go." I was sitting in Fang's lap. The counter was to my right and the woman at the desk was on the phone staring intently at me, as were the nurses who were shining flash lights in my eyes, and one almost took a blood sample. I punched her in the nose, and now sure that I would be locked in the mentally ill section of the hospital and spend the rest of my life staring at padded walls and playing with balls too soft for a baby, I ran.

My little sister was sick and could possibly die, my father who laughed as he tortured me was back, the one who I thought had murdered my mother, was now a liar.

Because my dead mother was alive.


	14. Chapter 14

Scarred Chapter 14

I ran until I couldn't run anymore and collapsed, not paying attention to where I was at. My tears fell along with myself and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I heard footsteps. I knew they weren't Fang's instantly, but I didn't care to look up. Maybe they belonged to a serial killer? I wouldn't have minded dying right then, but having my throat cut open wasn't exactly appealing at the moment, so I got up, and with one glance at the two men, I turned to walk away.

"Maximum Martinez?"

I stopped and turned around, realizing they were detectives as they held up their badges.

I sighed and tried to wipe away my tears. "Yeah, what?" I demanded.

"Have you been drinking any sort of alcoholic beverage?"

I burst out laughing, but not because it was funny. What was wrong with me? It took me a second to remember.

Were they stupid? They see a girl crying, falling face first on the sidewalk in _this_ part of town, and run over, holding up their badges and ask if I'm drunk. This was the kind of place you get murdered, not get drunk and then walk away alone down the sidewalk crying. Especially in front of a church. But the thing that bothered me the most was the fact that they knew my name.

"How do you know my name?"

The younger one looked at the older one and the grey haired man nodded.

"My name is Rob, Max," the youngest said, "and this is my partner, John. We've been keeping surveillance on you for a while now… ever since you moved in with Jeb Batchelder."

It had never occurred to me that Valencia had never taken Jeb's last name.

I shifted on my feet. True, I had done some pretty bad things before. One time I got drunk and attacked a homeless man and his stuffed animal. There had been several boys I had been with that probably weren't a very good influence on me and I had taken the blame for them for a lot of things I hadn't really done, totally messing up my record. But was it really this bad? The worst thing I remember doing was… _borrowing_ an old man's Mustang and taking it for a little ride is all.

"I haven't done anything wrong…"

"Of course, Ms. Martinez, but we have import-"

"My last name is Ride. Like my mother. My last name is Ride."

"Well, legally-"

"I don't care, because my last name is Ride."

"… Um, yes, alright then, we have some important information concerning Jeb. We know what he did to you and your mother. When you were adopted we were able to get his whereabouts. It seems he's been invisible for years. Your, uh, record helped us follow you."

After everything I had been through, I had the cops spying on me too?

"How do you know?"

I was deathly afraid I already knew the answer.

"We've stayed in touch with your mother for quite a while now. She was unable to see you because she's been at a safe house. We've reason to believe your father might want to harm you and or her."

I stared at them as more tears still came out of my eyes.

"What do you want?"

"Well we saw you and wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Do you need a ride, sweetie?" the oldest one asked. I had already forgotten his name for the time being.

"To where?" I asked bitterly.

I looked down and one of them took a deep breath. "To see your mother."

**Ha-ha! That was a shorty. Don't worry, though. I'll have another one up soon. In the meantime, read my other stories. They're really good!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I apologize to the peoples. My internet kept going down, annoying me thoroughly, but I have continued to check it and it's – obviously- working again, so here you are. **

**During the time in the millennium I have spent away from my faithful readers, I realized I never really put up a disclaimer. So:**

**Disclaimer: If James Patterson was a five foot fourteen year old named Savannah, then this story wouldn't be on Fanfiction, it would be a bestseller in all of the book stores around the world. Therefore, are you that stupid?**

**I don't own Maximum Ride.**

Scarred Chapter Sixteen

"You know what Jeb did to me, and you didn't do anything about it." I stared at them and felt moisture pool in my eyes. Why was I so emotional?

"We couldn't find him. We've been trying for ten years! Ever since your mother told us what happened, we searched and searched for you. We just couldn't find you. And then, you got adopted by him. You led us right to him."

"So go arrest him."

"That's the thing, we don't have evidence. All we have is your mother's word against his and the fact that alcohol was found in her system doesn't help. We need proof, like… a witness." They both stared at me.

I rubbed my eyes. I didn't want to testify. I just wanted everything to be over with for once.

"Oh," I said. "Ok, I guess but… I- I think I need to take a walk," I said quickly and turned around and hurried away. I felt dizzy and my vision was blurry, with tears or anger or sadness I wasn't sure, but either way I couldn't see. I heard loud footsteps begin to follow me but they stopped and I felt the two men watch me as I broke into a run and ran away from my problem, like I always did.

I walked back into the hospital at the same time Fang did. He was sweating, having obviously run the wrong way to find me. He wasn't angry but he was definitely confused. He was shooting questions at me like a machine gun, which was abnormal for him and it bothered me. I didn't answer. Just walked straight into the elevator, hoping it would get stuck again so I could tell him all about my problems and he would kiss me and I would forget that we had even had a conversation before it. Knowing myself, I knew that wouldn't happen. And it didn't get stuck. Fang just stopped it and stared at me in the poorly lit elevator.

"What happened?"

I shrugged. I wished I could tell him without having to say anything.

"Max…" He slid his arms around me. "I don't understand how you expect me to help you if you won't ever tell me what the problem is."

"Don't you mean problem_s_?" I asked. It wasn't really a question.

"No, Max, I really don't see what's that wrong anymore. I mean, I know Jeb… well, that and now Angel's hurt but she's okay, and I guess you're still depressed about your life but… You're like a time bomb! You go off all over the place and I just…"

I expected him to yell at me, tell me he was annoyed, the last person I had was about to hurt me.

"I wish you would feel better, baby," he whispered, "I want to make everything okay but I can't. Especially when you won't tell me what's wrong. The nurse told me what you asked her." His voice had returned to normal.

I felt the tears come back again.

I didn't respond. I didn't have to. He stared at me, his eyes a little wider than normal. He hugged me and I didn't hug back but he didn't let go and I didn't want him to. I just stood there, once again not knowing what to do or which way to go, so Fang held me, like he always did.

LINE

"Max!" Angel yelled. Her voice was raspy and she looked like she was still asleep in a way, but there she was, playing with her food. Despite what some people say, corndogs and chocolate pudding really don't go good together. I rushed to the bed.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded happily. She explained that she screamed at the nurses when they tried to put an IV in her arm, she got a bunch of lollipops, and Jeb was fun to be around. I glared at him thoroughly as he smiled calmly at me, asking me how my walk was. Fang almost got up to punch him.

Dr. M and the rest came in later that night with food. I got wings, and Fang and Jeb had simultaneously said that I liked them mild, not medium. They almost killed each other with the looks they gave each other. I took in a deep breath, not wanting to deal with it.

Angel fell asleep soon afterwards, and Gazzy followed suit.

Fang eventually coaxed me out of the room with the rest and I left my baby inside, all alone. I felt like a murderer. Gazzy was held tightly in Iggy's arms, muttering about chocolate cake.

The hotel seemed smaller when we got there and I felt like it had been ages since we had been there. I took a ridiculously long shower (long enough for Fang to come and check on me _twice_), and collapsed onto my bed. I stared at the moon. I wondered if my mother had a fascination with astronomy like I did. I wondered if she was looking at the moon too. At the very same moment I was. That was scary to think about so I got up and closed the curtains. The moonlight still streamed in.

I got into my bed, facing opposite of the window, and slowly fell asleep.


End file.
